Society often leads us to believe that the homeless choose not to work, when in reality there are compounding issues that often keep these people from assimilating back into a healthy position in society.

 

To name a few unseen reasons for homelessness:

 

Some people are victims of the foster system. They lacked the presence of a role model or someone to show them love, instill values, or to set them up in any way for their future.
 

Earth-shaking loss of a loved one can lead to the slow collapse of someone’s life, and compound upon underlying issues that leads them to homelessness.
 

The absence of a lockable door makes it hard for these people to leave for 8 hours a day 5 days a week without their possessions being ransacked. (Many homeless people have had their identification cards stolen or lost thus making it harder for them to find employment)
 
 

The goal of this project is to help solve this last point: the absence of a secure place to call home. 

 
The idea for this project is to highlight the fact that the world can be made better through human effort. We can collaborate through the organization of workshops and build 2-3 micro homes a day between a handful of people. It is apparent that there are too many issues for those in power to tackle at once. It is time for everyday people to champion and contribute to crowdfunded projects that we do strictly out of moral principle and individual initiative. 

 

These micro dwellings will be mobile; built onto a small trailer made of recycled steel or out of new lumber. Walls, subfloor, and the roof will be assembled using sturdy discarded pallets that many businesses are eager to give away. 

 

Each home will come with a cooler, camping stove, 1 window, CO detector, a bed platform, small solar charger meant to charge phones, as well as a door with a sturdy lock.

Donated and recycled building materials are encouraged. Although, building all 32 sq ft of this structure out of new products should not cost more than $600 each.

 

 

Funds will go towards:

•Panel siding

•Roofing steel

•2x4’s

•Hinges and hardware

•Insulation/Spray foam insulation 

•Plywood

•Wheels

•Small propane camping stove

•Small cooler

•CO detectors 

•1 window

•Small handheld solar charger to charge cell phone (this may seem excessive, but in modern times this is a huge help)

 
100% of funding will go towards building materials. There will be a link to a public pdf spreadsheet of all receipts. The link will be available on this page. It will be updated with receipts every two weeks; once the spending of funds occurs.

 

 

I believe I am the right person to champion this project. From November until March I lived in a hand built micro camper anchored in the bed of my Toyota Tundra in Lake Tahoe, California. This adventure was fun, and served the purpose of developing a understanding of necessities/efficiencies while living in a micro dwelling.

Some mornings were 5 degrees Fahrenheit outside; other nights had cast feet of snow by sunrise. A solid structure made this doable. 

 

I am passionate about the fact that humans are fragile and with just a little love and support shown to us, we can better ourselves and the community around us. I believe shelter is the most tangible place to begin the transformation of a person’s life.